Diamond Is Unbreakable #27 - I Am an Alien

Hey everybody, and welcome back to JoJo’s Semi-Weekly Comparisons (sorry about last week)! Today we’re going to take a look at Episode #27, “I Am An Alien”! As you can probably imagine, this is going to be another long one, so sit tight, grab some snacks and let’s go!

Today’s first comparison already needs both a video and two image comparison! Here’s Mikitaka being hit by the arrow, slightly more tilted and completely redrawn; Kira senior has also received the same treatment:

Another couple of redrawn Mikitakas for your eyes only (you’ll see a lot of him this episode):

In this shot both the grass in the foreground and Mikitaka and the clouds (which, by the way, would be an excellent name for an indie dreampop band) are blurrier:

And another couple of redrawn Mikitakas before the Kawajiris show up and steal the scene:

Alright, so! This is this site’s first BIG EDIT: when I first wrote this post, I dismissed all the differences in the opening because, at the time, it was well known that the version that aired on TV was half-finished, and most things were changed by episode #28, but I no longer think that’s an acceptable thing to do! So, here you go, here’s a detailed comparison of the opening as well! For the first different thing, you can see that the writing in the center has been moved down a little bit:

Kosaku’s jacket has also been retouched in a couple of frames, and if you move the separator left and right very quickly it looks like he’s subtly dancing a very polite boogie:

Here, Kosaku’s more distant from the camera, and everybody else in the background has also been moved around (Koichi’s particularly humorous):

Here, the justice sun-clock thingy in the background has a much softer lighting, the sky in the background is black instead of blue, the sea is also looking different, Josuke’s silhouettes now have a reflection and have also been moved up (as has been the camera itself, although by much less):

As you can see here, the background continues to be darker and there’s an additional… “gritty” texture overlay here and there:

The camera also moves differently towards the end (this is the final frame of the sequence):

The distortion in this sequence is way way different, there’s a slightly dark vignette around the edges, the banister to the right has been redrawn, the door has a different shading and a different knob too:

Rohan has also been redrawn:

In the TV version of this bit here, the chair was sort of… vibrating:

And in addition to that, this frame where half of the chair mysteriously vanished in thin air (taking with it the banister too) has also been fixed:

The sun is inverted in this bit here, and the camera is also a little different:

The definitive version of the opening also has a fade transition between this sequence and the following one, instead of just cutting to it:

Both Shinobu and the background have slightly different colours here, and the red on the credits is not as vibrant:

The bit where Shinobu splits into multiple copies is different:

Apart from all the Kosakus and Shinobus being lit differently and the credits being at different stages of fade-in, you’ll see how all the Kosaku’s left shoulders are no longer see-through but are instead completely absent:

Here, all the green bits at the left of the credits have been moved down a little bit, and the names of the two singers (青木カレン - Aoki Karen and ハセガワダイスケ - Hasegawa Daisuke) are more compact:

As you can see from this frame, some of the floating Kawajiris fade in more slowly in the BD version, and the credits are also a little different. The right side of the credits has been properly aligned to the right and, in addition to that, Action Animation Director 三室健太 (Mimuro Kenta) has been added on the left side and 小谷聖悟 (Kotani Seigo) has been added to the right, under the Motion Graphics section:

In this section of the opening, the background is looking very different (more filters, that same “gritty” overlay on most things), and in addition to that the camera is different and there are no Rohan and Yukako silhouettes…:

…that’s because the animation itself is completely different! Check it out:

Compare the last frame of the previous animation for a quick look at how completely different it all is:

This bit is also completely different:

Here, have a couple of frames from the previous bit, just to take a closer look at the differences (I personally think that the first TV frame was very, very cool):

The background has been slightly moved, here:

The Morioh logo’s colours are more vibrant, and the background (when visible) is less dark here:

Here, most colours are different and everything just looks… Better:

Here, the camera is a little more zoomed in, and the numbers now have properly cut-out holes:

Well… Everything is different, at the end! The temporary TV version re-used some bits from episode #25, while the BD version has newly drawn sequences:

And, in this final shot, most faces have been retouched, and a bunch of clothes have received the same treatment! In addition to that, the bottom line of the credits is now a little bigger and has the same pink aura as the one above it, and if you look at the right, just behind Tonio, you’ll see that there is a new stand there! But… I’m not 100% sure who that is supposed to be! Is it Earth, Wind & Water? Yuuya? Highway Star? Let me know, because I’ve squinted at this frame for at least five minutes without really getting it:

Whew! Let’s go back to the main episode! In this shot, Jotaro is no longer holding a blank piece of paper and the book on the table has a proper cover:

In this scene of Kira Yoshikage having a metaphorical erection the hand has been retouched, the nails grow way less and the shadow under his ring and middle fingers has been corrected:

Alright, I hope you like Shinobu, because this next part’s gonna be all about her! Let’s start with a completely redrawn and repositioned Shinobu (even the door handle, the teapot and tea cup have all been redrawn):

And again here, plus a redrawn Kosaku:

Back to Shinobu:

This here sequence is one of those rare moments in which every single frame needs to be compared and savoured deeply, so there you are. Breathe deeply and inhale the pungent fragrance of QUALITY:

In addition, the beginning of the previous scene is also hilarious, as we can see that David pro decided to scrap that whole storyline about Shinobu practicing going up an invisible stair to prepare for her long-awaited mime debut:

Aand that scene’s over! …But don’t think I’m not gonna do another frame-by-frame comparison! How about another one… Right now?:

…And another one:

Alright, let’s have a little breather with an animation! Here, as you can see, the very static TV version (which was basically just one frame) was replaced with a montage of some (really cute) animations of Shinobu fidgeting and waiting for Kira to do or say something. Needless to say, both her and Kira have been obviously redrawn:

Here, Shinobu has been completely redrawn…:

…and she has also received an additional animation:

Now for a very minor difference: a spot on Shinobu’s hair has been recoloured here:

And in this scene she now has a bra:

Alright, that’s enough Shinobu for today! Let’s get back to our boys! In this scene, the wrinkles on the 億 are no longer on top of the kanji, the usual BILLION has been added to Okuyasu’s left arm, Josuke is slightly closer to him and there’s a slightly darker shading on the bottom of the frame. In a bunch of today’s comparisons, the sky will also be brighter; I’ll not mention it every time because that would be a bit boring, just keep that in mind:

Josuke’s left eye has been slightly retouched here:

And his whole face is looking better here:

Here both Jo and Oku’s noses have been retouched, every line is slightly thicker, the usual BILLION is back where it belongs, and the shading on Okuyasu’s chest has been properly coloured in:

Here both their faces have been (thankfully) retouched, the edges of the grass are more consistent, Okuyasu’s left arm has been recoloured and there is a very slight distortion on the edges:

In this scene Josuke’s collar has been recoloured and the shading on his chest area is different:

…And when he turns around, they drew the missing second heart in his collar, and the two tiny tips of the anchor on the opposite collar have been removed:

Here, both Josuke and Okuyasu’s faces have been redrawn, once again the 億 is back, Josuke’s collar has been retouched and recoloured and the shading on and under Mikitaka is different:

In this scene of Mikitaka rising from the ground like the alien boy he is, there are three differences, but they don’t appear together. First, Josuke and Okuyasu’s redrawn heads…:

…then a new shade on Mikitaka’s hand…:

…and finally, they drew the missing symbols on his chest:

Moving on, here’s a bunch of new things on Okuyasu’s uniform, a new (and very tiny) shade under Josuke’s chin. The line over his mouth has also been removed in the BDs, and the ones delineating his cheekbones are shorter:

Here, there’s a new shade under Mikitaka’s chin, and the planet symbol has been added to his collar:

Again with the neck shade here, plus a shorter piercing… cord? String? That thing:

Here, the symbols on Mikitaka’s chest have all been redrawn, a corner on the bottom left of his uniform is no longer see-through and Josuke+Okuyasu’s faces have been redrawn:

This might be one of my favourite redraws in all of DiU. Just… Look at this. Okay, I agree, you probably didn’t need to look at all these very similar frames, but I want everybody to look at the universe’s prettiest Alien Boy (oh yeah, Josuke and Okuyasu are also looking sharp):

This shot is slightly distorted around the edges, Josuke, Okuyasu and Mikitaka have all been retouched and their shadows are slightly less dark:

There’s a darker shade on the bottom of this frame, and Okuyasu has magically gained a nose (thanks, Onionne!):

“I wish I was in my spaceship playing video games. These people are weird. My feet hurt. I’m hungry.” (or, if you really want to know, a retouched Mikitaka and Okuyasu, a darker shade on the crop circle and a slightly better cheek and jaw on Josuke):

I love when everything is different in a comparison, because I can just say “everything” and not have to elaborate further. Except I’m elaborating further right now on the reasons why I like when a comparison is completely redrawn. Ah, nevermind:

Gotta move that star and triangle lower, son:

Here, the symbols on Mikitaka’s uniform are drawn better, there’s a shade under his chin and the white parts of Okuyasu’s uniform are less white:

There’s a bunch of different things in this one! First off, both Josuke and Okuyasu’s eyes have been retouched; then, Josuke’s mouth no longer has that weird line on top of it, and to top it off his uniform is longer:

The spaceship symbol on Mikitaka’s chest now has the red triangle underneath (which I’m assuming is the exhaust from the engine or something), and a small shade on his left shoulder has been retouched:

Here, both Josuke and Okuyasu’s faces and collars have been retouched, and Mikitaka’s symbols have been improved a bit as well:

Here, the dollar sign on Oku’s collar has been redrawn. The shade in his right sleeve and on the back of his collar have also been retouched:

In this shot Josuke’s face and Okuyasu’s eyelids have been retouched:

Mikitaka remembered to put on his piercing string:

“Hey kids, wanna buy some weed?””:

“Wait, this isn’t weed”:

Ah, I love total redraws like this one:

Bless you, David:

The inside of Mikitaka’s mouth has been recoloured here and every line is thicker:

Luckily, most of this frame has been retouched:

And here both Josuke and Mikitaka’s faces have been retouches, there now are highlights in Josuke and Okuyasu’s hair, Mikitaka’s hand has been retouched and he’s now holding… something? Okuyasu’s eyebrow has also been slightly retouched:

Aw yeah, baby! Another total redraw here:

In this shot, both Mikitaka and Okuyasu’s faces have been retouched, and Josuke’s pompadour is slightly less square. The usual BILLION is also back where it belongs:

They just keep forgetting BILLION and 億, huh?:

And here, Mikitaka’s piercing cord has been redrawn, his face and hand have been retouched and he also has some round golden pin-like thingies on his uniform collar:

In this shot both Josuke and Mikitaka’s faces have been redrawn (as well as Josuke’s hand, look at that thing):

This shot is so much better it’s almost unrecognizable:

Both Josuke and Okuyasu’s faces and heads have been redrawn here:

Here Mikitaka’s face and hand have both been retouched, the inside of his mouth has been recoloured, a couple of drawing errors in the infinite-like symbol on his uniform and in his hair have been corrected, the shading on Josuke and Okuyasu is darker and Okuyasu’s bottom belt is shaded better. Phew!:

Ahhh, another complete redraw! Feast your eyes on this goodness and take a look at Okuyasu’s goddamn head in the TV version:

Okuyasu’s no longer high on that daNK alien ku$sh:

In this scene every symbol has been retouched (the only one that didn’t need fixing was the anchor on Josuke’s collar):

Same as before, and on top of that Josuke’s face has been retouched, his collar recoloured and his shirt properly shaded:

Another total redraw! Look at that!:

In the scene where Mikitaka freaks out about the ambulance, they added a new texture overlay on the edge of the frame, retouched Mikitaka’s eyes and cheeks, and also made the background slightly less dark:

Here, Mikitaka’s hands have also been recoloured to match the colour of his face, which is now covered in blisters. The shade under his nose piercing is also a bit lighter:

And here same as before, plus 億 is no longer surrounded by a weird box, the shade under Josuke’s mouth has been properly filled in, the line on his nose is no longer black and the shading near his right eye has been ever so slightly retouched:

Here every face has been retouched, the usual missing BILLION has been redrawn, Mikitaka’s hands have been recoloured and there’s now a shadow under his bag:

Mikitaka’s hands and neck have been recoloured here as well:

His hands again here:

Josuke and Okuyasu are both looking a little more like human beings here, and the bottom of the frame is also darker:

Another complete redraw!:

In this frame, both their uniforms have their missing symbols and writings and whatever, and Josuke’s face has also been retouched:

Josuke has been completely redrawn in this scene, and Okuyasu (when he’s in frame) has also been retouched:

Mikitaka’s hands again here:

And again here, plus a more consistent shading on Josuke, around his face and neck:

Even his face has been recoloured here:

Josuke’s head area has been retouched here:

Mikitaka’s face and uniform symbols have been properly drawn here:

His eyes have been retouched here, and his collar recoloured:

In this shot, they remembered to draw his nose piercing + cord and the planets on his collar; his eyes have also been retouched:

Both faces have been retouched here (plus a tiny bit of Josuke’s hair):

Here Mikitaka’s face, hair and collar have all been retouched, and the railing Josuke is leaning on is no longer transparent:

In this other shot, that one symbol on Mikitaka’s chest has been recoloured red, and Josuke has a darker shade in the bottom left corner. His eye has also been slightly retouched:

Phew! That’s the last we’ll see of Mikitaka in this episode, luckily! I love the dude, but it seems David pro was really struggling with how to draw him properly. Now let’s go pay a visit to our favourite mangaka! Here he is, in his full glory and with a decent face:

In this shot, Rohan has a sort of vignette along the edges:

Here, Josuke’s face, collar and symbols have all been retouched. Who wouldn’t trust such a pure face?:

Here, the bottom of Rohan and the chips is slightly darker, Josuke’s eyes have been slightly retouched and Rohan’s hand is looking way better:

Look at this cutie! The pattern in his hair is inverted, and his right ear has been properly shaded:

Aaaaand that’s it! Hoooly hell! This turned out even longer than Episode #26! But it was fun. Sorry for the delay, but as you can imagine, these things take a lot of time! I hope you had fun reading through all this. See you next time for Episode #28, “Highway Star - Part 1”!